Tourism panel to hear advertising agencies again

From Staff

Published Thursday, August 23, 2001

St. Johns County tourism executives will try again Friday to select the advertising agency that will handle the county's tourism accounts next year.

Three firms will make presentations to the advertising agency selection committee of the St. Johns County Visitor and Convention Bureau and the Tourist Development Council. The presentations will be at the county convention center, St. Augustine Room B. The convention center is located at the World Golf Village.

Tweed Agency of Fort Myers will be first at 8:30 a.m. followed by Gold & Associates of Ponte Vedra Beach at 9:30 a.m. and The Meridian Group of Ft. Lauderdale at 10:30 a.m.

Glenn Hastings, the county's tourism director, said the presentations were being made again because one of two selection committee meetings, May 30, had not been advertised in The Record beforehand in accordance with the Government-in-the-Sunshine Law's notice requirement. Hastings said he has not been able to determine why the May 31 meeting got into the notice but the May 30 meeting did not.

On the advice of the county attorney's office, the selection committee was told to start again with the action from the last meeting that had been properly noticed. There were six firms in contention at that time. Each firm, Hastings said, was invited back to Friday's meeting but three declined.

After the selection committee meeting Friday, the county Tourist Development Council will meet at 1:30 p.m. to hear its recommendation and vote. That meeting will be held in the convention center's St. Augustine Room A. The council then makes its recommendation Sept. 4 to the Board of County Commissioners which has final say. The new contract begins Oct. 1.